Chemical additives are often utilized in crude oil production to increase resource recovery and optimize the handling and delivery of crude oil. Various types of chemicals are required to aid the production, handling and transportation of crude oil. These chemicals may contaminate/remain in the crude oil as impurities (in trace amounts) from production until the crude reaches the refinery. In addition to oil production, such chemicals are also used in refinery units (e.g. delayed cokers) to control foaming issues.
The presence of such silicon compounds in a crude fraction or refinery fraction can create difficulties for a variety of types of processes within a refinery setting. For example, silicon is a known poison for various types of catalysts. As a result, the ability to reliably detect the presence of silicon with a crude fraction or refinery fraction can be beneficial, to reduce or minimize undesirable contamination of catalysts and/or other refinery equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,908,827 describes methods for detecting silicon in a petroleum fraction using X-ray fluorescence. The methods include use of standard solutions containing organosiloxanes in an amount of 0.5 wt % to 3.5 wt % as reference samples for the determination of silicon content in fuels boiling range petroleum fractions having comparable amounts of silicon content.